Felix sat on his bed, his back against the wall. For some reason, it occurred to him that he wasn’t sure how long it’d been since a thought last went through his head. It was a little funny that the first thought he’d have would be about the last time he thought. He didn’t feel like laughing, but he was sure he’d have cracked a smile at that any other time.

  Right now, he was too busy hugging his knees to bother with laughing. Honestly, it had stopped being comfortable a while ago. He considered moving then, but he didn’t really feel like it. For some reason, it sounded like a lot of effort. Right now, he was forced to consider it again. His tailbone kinda hurt from staying in this position for such a long time.

  He sighed.

  All this thinking was honestly a little draining, so he stopped doing that. But he was still uncomfortable. Fortunately, his body was kind enough to move itself. Unfortunately, by the time Felix realised his body had actually moved off the bed instead of finding a better version of the fetal position to huddle up in, it was too late to stop it.

  At some point, he spotted his bag on the other side of the room, and apparently, his body took that as permission to go to it. He wasn’t very happy with this new self-steering feature his body developed. I mean, how hard is it to find a new way to curl up into a ball? It could have just lain down, and that would have been fine. He considered lodging a complaint to management, but soon realised that he’s normally the one in charge of his body and lodging a complaint to himself seemed wholly unproductive.

  ‘Oh, hey, Body opened the bag.’ Felix froze, and so did Body. There was a letter in his bag, right on top of the picture of his family.

  …

  Felix wanted to ask Body if it was going to pick that up, but when he tried, a weird sound came out of his throat. It scared the living daylights out of him until he realised it was just the sound of his voice.

  “Guess the stupid self-steering stopped working.”

  Realising he now had to control his body by himself, he dragged a chair from his desk over to the bed. After carefully setting the picture and letter upright against the backrest, he climbed back onto his bed. For a while, he just sat there staring at the letter, but eventually, he had to accept that it wouldn’t read itself. He thought it a little selfish of it, he already gave it a nice and comfortable place to sit after all.

  He plopped onto his side and continued staring at the letter. He was probably being a little unfair to it. Letters weren’t known for their ability in public speaking after all. Or maybe they were, he’d seen so little of the universe, for all he knew letters could be prolific public speakers, revered for their eloquence across the lands. Perhaps silent letters were shunned and despised for their lack of ability. He felt a pang of empathy for his untalented letter.

  So he did the only reasonable thing. He decided that at his age, he was expected to start acting like an adult, and that was exactly what he was going to do.

  So he avoided his problems by taking a nap.

  …

  He wasn’t sure how long he’d slept, but he sure felt a lot better afterwards. Waking up to his family looking back at him made him feel a little less alone, less of a failure. That thought almost sent him spiralling into a pit of despair yet again. So he decided to take action before he did. He opened the letter and immediately recognised the handwriting as his grandmother’s.

  Heya Kiddo

  If you’re reading this, then I suppose you’ve finished your first Journey. I want you to know that no matter how it turned out, I’m so proud that you and Lara are taking this step. No matter what the results are, this is only the start of your journey. What you do from here on out will determine what type of person and Traveller you will be, if you still want to be one.

  If your journey went as I expected, then right about now you should be busy feeling sorry for yourself. If I’m right, then I’m so sorry, kiddo. I knew the chances of you being a knight were very small. Our family's affinities tend to lean towards the esoteric affinities. Between me, your mother, father, grandfather, Claire, and Damien, only Claire and I have been able to walk the martial path.

  I chose to walk the path of a magi, and while Claire is currently on a martial path, I suspect her path will eventually lead her to a mixed path.

  I debated for a long time whether to tell you this, but in the end, I decided not to. The hints I gave you before you departed were the most I could bring myself to do.

  If you hate me for keeping it from you, I would understand, especially since I won’t even tell you why. I’ll only say that the alliance forbids parents from telling children on Homeworlds anything about mana before they finish their first Journey with good reason.

  Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

  Telling you may well have been worse than not telling you. Besides, there’s always the chance that you could get lucky like Claire and end up with a unique life affinity against all the odds.

  Now listen up, whether you’re mad at me or not, you need to hear this. Felix, you've always said that you want to be a knight so you can become an explorer. The hardships explorers face are greater than you could ever imagine. The dangers faced when delving into the unknown parts of the universe will make the little ‘demonstration’ you saw during the festival look like the parlour tricks they are.

  Even the little I showed you on your birthday is nothing compared to what I’m able to do, let alone the type of explorer you dream of being. Even amongst Travellers, there are few suited to that life.

  You claim you want to be an explorer, so let me be blunt. If something like not having the talent to be a knight is enough to stop you, then you’d die before you see your first space rock. Magi aren’t able to become explorers? Horse shit. It just means you’re too weak or you don’t have the drive to be an explorer.

  If you want to be an explorer, then become strong enough to be one. That’s all there is to it. The paths are endless. It’s up to every Traveller to determine what their path will look like. It’s up to you to find your own way and see how far you can walk.

  Just remember that if you ever get tired on your journey and want to rest, your family will always be the home you can return to. Even if you don’t become a Traveller, we’ll all still love you.

  P.s.

  You'd better look after Lara, or I’ll have you work as Damien’s lab assistant until you’re fifty.

  I’m not kidding.

  With love

  The coolest and hopefully still your favourite grandma.

  Felix sat still for a long time. He allowed the silence to envelop him. He sat there with his thoughts. They raced through his head, each new thought rushing to shunt away the last. It didn’t matter. They were just noise to keep his mind from dwelling on what really mattered.

  If it weren’t for the occasional sound of dripping tears on paper, he might have kept his mind from dwelling on it. But he couldn’t stop his subconscious from mourning his broken dreams.

  He could see the truth in his grandmother’s words. He knew what she was saying made sense. But how could he watch his dreams wither and die in front of his eyes? How could he not feel pain when he thought of the hours he spent fighting with sticks or naming his sword strikes? A part of him was gone, and no matter how he tried to claw it back, he couldn’t. He felt the hole it left, an emptiness that screamed at him that he was less than he was before he took the first step on that path.

  It took a while, but eventually Felix ran out of tears. The ache remained, but he knew he didn’t have forever to wallow in his misery. Eventually, he’d have to pick himself up and get moving. His grandmother’s letter also reminded him that he didn’t know what happened to Lara. He knew it was unlikely that she wouldn’t have the talent either, but there was a chance that she didn’t.

  He already started feeling sick at the thought that she might be feeling the same way he was. He’d just left her to fend for herself while he wallowed in self-pity. The growing feeling of unease was at war with his desire to stay in bed and mourn what he’d lost.

  Besides, if she were talented, seeing her excitement might cheer him up a little.

  Before he set out, however, he needed to clean himself up a bit. If he looked half as good as he felt, Lara would probably run from him at first sight. While busying himself with trying to look halfway presentable, he spotted his identity token lying on his desk. Thinking back, he remembered Alvara had said she’d left him a message on it.

  He remembered her showing him how to use it and refusing to let him rest until he could repeat it back to her. She’d guided him to his dorm, but he couldn’t remember much of what she said after she explained that he’d never be a knight. Come to think of it, he was pretty sure that the guides wouldn’t be personally leading everyone to their dorms, or maybe they would. She probably felt bad for him after seeing how he reacted to the news.

  He’d have to thank her when he saw her next.

  Felix picked up the slate and tried to remember what she said about it. After thinking about it for a bit, a sceptical look crossed his face. “She wouldn’t have tried to mess with me, would she?” He winced a little, hearing how drained his voice sounded, but he shook his head and tried to remain focused. Her instructions on how to use the slate honestly sounded a little silly, but seeing as there was no one else around, Felix just went along with it.

  He placed the slate against his head and tried to picture himself falling into the slate. To his amazement, it worked! He felt as if the slate became an accessory to his mind. The information it held felt like memories, but they were unfamiliar to him. He tried moving the stone away, and it was gone. Clearly, the stone wasn’t planting the memories in his head. He tried accessing the stone again, and this time looked at the map. He memorised where the dorms are, and when he removed the slate, he still remembered it.

  He felt a bit of excitement bubble up in him. This was the wonder of mana. It could do such strange and magical things. And he was finally allowed to experience them for himself instead of reading about them in stories. Realising that drove home that not all his dreams had turned to ash, it wasn’t much. It was a bit of toasty sunshine on a frosty winter morning. A bit of happiness that would have gone unnoticed in the middle of summer, but it was incomparably precious in the dark and desolate frosts of a long winter.

  He quickly checked to see what else was on the slate. There was a letter from Alvara, the spell she’d given him access to, a map of the crossroads, some general information, and rules.

  He knew the headmaster had said that how they spent their time was up to them, but he still felt a little shocked that there was no guidance or requirements whatsoever. By the looks of it, he could spend the next year in his room and no one would stop him. Not that he would do that, he was just shocked by the amount of freedom they were given.

  Before he could investigate any further, there was a knock on his door. For a moment, he froze, not sure if he was willing to see anyone, but a nagging feeling told him to answer it. He made his way slowly to the door just in time for a second knock to sound out.

  As he slowly opened the door, a familiar pair of violet eyes, red and puffy from crying, met his own. Before he had time to gather his thoughts, he was wrapped up in a violent hug.

  When prophecy collides with madness, destiny ignites.

  The Heroes of Avangard isn’t just a story — it’s a cosmic odyssey where chaos and insanity intertwine. Across the sprawling realms of Avangard, pre-teens and teens are chosen by fate to fulfill three ancient prophecies — each one a key to preserving existence itself.

  all three are connected. And at the center of it lies a force older, greater, and far more treacherous than anything Avangard has ever known.

  ?? VOLUME ONE – War of the Celestianites

  Lens Don, a clumsy yet spirited 12-year-old Celestianite, dreams of being a hero at Insane Middle School. But when an ancient prophecy names him the chosen one to fulfill the “Celestial’s Fight” and end the war between the Celestianites and the Lunaranites, his life spirals into chaos.

  Olsen, Prince, Demaurion, and Archie, he sets out to prove that even the most underestimated soul can become a legend.

  Can Don claim his destiny and save Avangard before it’s too late?

  The fate of three prophecies — and the entire universe — rests in his hands.